Undoubtedly, the Lightning were deserving of the two points they collected. For most of the night, they decisively outplayed Vegas. But an outstanding goaltending performance from Carl Lindbom—who was making his NHL debut—prevented the Lightning from blowing the game open.
Frustration easily could have set in. Instead, the Lightning maintained a strong work ethic and high compete level. And they eventually did get rewarded. Nikita Kucherov finished a two-on-one rush with Brandon Hagel to win the game thirty-three seconds into overtime.
The Lightning dominated play through the first two periods. They got on the board when Hagel scored on a rebound at the side of the net—he put the puck into the top of the goal at 4:53 of the first period. They might have added to their lead, but Lindbom repeatedly erased scoring chances. Vegas managed to tie the game with a William Karlsson goal off the rush at 18:25 of the first.
The second period followed a similar script, as the Lightning dictated the action but couldn’t score. They had five power play chances overall over the first 40 minutes (to Vegas’ one), which helped them apply pressure. But five-on-five action was also tilted in the Lightning’s favor. Through two periods, the Lightning outshot Vegas, 24-9. Shot attempts were 55-22 in favor of Tampa Bay.
Five-on-five play in the third period was more even. Both teams defended well at even strength to limit chances. Vegas received the only two power-play chances of the final frame, though. Crucially, the Lightning killed off both infractions. Andrei Vasilevskiy made five saves during those two kills, including a Grade-A look from Tomas Hertl in the slot and two point-blank attempts from Ivan Barbashev at the top of the crease.
The second of those kills came moments after it appeared that Kucherov had given the Lightning a 2-1 lead. Brayden Point won a puck battle along the boards and angled to the front of the net. He set up Kucherov at the back post for a one-timer into the net. But the Golden Knights challenged that the play was offside. It was another frustrating element to this game, but the Lightning didn’t lose focus and made sure they got through the final six-plus minutes successfully (including that final penalty kill).
The Lightning lost the faceoff to start overtime. During an earlier OT game at Washington, the Lightning never touched the puck after losing the opening draw. On the occasion, Anthony Cirelli broke his stick on the faceoff, so he quickly changed for Kucherov. Kucherov, Hagel, and J.J. Moser weren’t passive as Vegas controlled the puck. Instead, the three players aggressively pressured the puck. It paid dividends when Hagel stripped Shea Theodore just inside the Lightning blue line and countered with Kucherov on an odd-man rush. Seconds later, the Lightning had their first OT win of the season.
The Lightning played well throughout the homestand. They’ll look to keep building up their game when they visit Nashville on Tuesday.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Nikita Kucherov — Lightning. GWG.
- Carl Lindbom — Golden Knights. 26 saves in NHL debut.
- Brandon Hagel — Lightning. Goal and assist.
